Head-To-Head Review: NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE) vs. Aethlon Medical (NASDAQ:AEMD)

NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE) and Aethlon Medical (NASDAQ:AEMD) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.8% of NeuroPace shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.0% of Aethlon Medical shares are held by institutional investors. 22.2% of NeuroPace shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Aethlon Medical shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares NeuroPace and Aethlon Medical”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NeuroPace	$65.42 million	5.71	-$32.96 million	($1.00)	-12.52
Aethlon Medical	$570,000.00	16.64	-$12.21 million	($2.82)	-0.24

Aethlon Medical has lower revenue, but higher earnings than NeuroPace. NeuroPace is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Aethlon Medical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares NeuroPace and Aethlon Medical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NeuroPace	-36.74%	-205.41%	-28.29%
Aethlon Medical	N/A	-160.36%	-115.74%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for NeuroPace and Aethlon Medical, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NeuroPace	0	1	4	0	2.80
Aethlon Medical	0	0	1	0	3.00

NeuroPace currently has a consensus price target of $14.80, suggesting a potential upside of 18.21%. Aethlon Medical has a consensus price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 930.17%. Given Aethlon Medical’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Aethlon Medical is more favorable than NeuroPace.

Volatility & Risk

NeuroPace has a beta of 2.05, suggesting that its share price is 105% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aethlon Medical has a beta of 1.88, suggesting that its share price is 88% more volatile than the S&P 500.

About NeuroPace

NeuroPace, Inc. operates as a medical device company in the United States. The company develops RNS system, a brain-responsive neuromodulation system that delivers personalized, real-time treatment at the seizure source for treating medically refractory focal epilepsy. It also records continuous brain activity data and enables clinicians to monitor patients in person and remotely. Its RNS System includes RNS neurostimulator, cortical strip and depth leads, and Patient Remote Monitor, as well as other implantable and non-implantable accessories. The company sells its products to hospital facilities for initial RNS system implant procedures and for replacement procedures. NeuroPace, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

About Aethlon Medical

Aethlon Medical, Inc., a medical therapeutic company, focuses on developing products to treat cancer and life-threatening infectious diseases in the United States. It develops Hemopurifier, a clinical-stage immunotherapeutic device that removes tumor-derived exosomes and life-threatening viruses and use in organ transplantation. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is based in San Diego, California.